(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter of greeting and encouragement to participants of an Interuniversity Congress on Saint Theresa of Avila.
The letter, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Holy Father, expresses gratitude to the Academic world for highlighting the relevance of Saint Theresa’s teachings.
Organized by the Catholic University of “Santa Teresa de Jesus de Avila” in collaboration with other Catholic Universities, the 3-day Congress entitled “St. Teresa of Avila, Maestra de Vida” is taking place in Avila, the city where Theresa was born 500 years ago.
The main purpose of the congress is to bring the figure of St. Teresa of Avila closer to those in academia and university circles by examining the figure of the great mystic from different perspectives, including, the impact St. Teresa and her writings have had and will continue to have on the New Evangelization, on our interior and daily lives and on modern society today.
Organizers say that while examining the validity and scope of her teachings during this congress, “we hope to foster a deeper understanding of her spirituality and to discover her as an example for future generations”.
In his letter, Pope Francis also urges participants at the Congress to find in the contemplation and meditation pursued by Theresa - whom he describes as a “master of prayer” – the source of true science and authentic values that are at the basis of life.
Over 3.000 representatives of Universities all over the world have been invited to this congress where experts in the figure of St. Teresa as well as intellectuals from the five continents, philosophers and theologians will be lecturers.
(from Vatican Radio)...

3 hours 33 min

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged the faithful to look beyond material needs and turn to Jesus who is “the bread of life”.
The Pope’s words came as he addressed the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Taking his cue from the Gospel reading of the day which tells of the crowd that went looking for Jesus, not because they saw the signs but because they had eaten the loaves of bread and were filled, Pope Francis pointed out that those people gave more value to the bread than to He who gave them the bread.
He explained that before this spiritual blindness, Jesus highlights the need to look beyond the gift and discover the giver. God himself – the Pope said – is the gift and is also the giver.
Jesus invites us – the Pope continued – to be open to a perspective which is not only that of daily preoccupation and material needs; Jesus speaks to us of a different kind of food, food which is not corruptible and that we must search for and welcome into our lives.
He exhorts us not to work for food that perishes but “for the food that endures for eternal life which the Son of Man will give us” he said.
With these words – Pope Francis continued – He wants us to understand that beyond a physical hunger, man has a different kind of hunger – “we all have this hunger” – a more important kind of hunger that cannot be satisfied with ordinary food.
“It is the hunger for life - the hunger for eternity - that only He can satisfy because He is the bread of life” he said.
And pointing out that the true meaning of our earthly existence is to be found at the end, in eternity, Pope Francis said that to be open to meeting Jesus every day of our lives will illuminate our lives and give meaning to small gifts, sufferings and preoccupations.
And quoting from the Gospel of John, the Pope said “Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst”.
“This – he said – refers to the Eucharist, the greatest gift that fulfills body and soul”.
To meet and to welcome Jesus, “the bread of life” – Pope Francis concluded – gives meaning and hope to our lives that are sometimes tortuous; but this “bread of life” – he said - also gives us the duty to satisfy the spiritual and material needs of our brothers.
To do this – he said- we must announce the Gospel everywhere, and with the witness of a fraternal attitude of solidarity towards our neighbor, we can make Christ and his love present amongst men.
(from Vatican Radio)...

(Vatican Radio) The month of August promises to be a busy one for Pope Francis who is scheduled to be involved in a series of public events.
Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, Prefect of the Pontifical Household, told Vatican Radio that the Pope will meet publically with the faithful in numerous occasions during the summer month and that preparations are underway to organize an extra General Audience each month (possibly on a Saturday) during the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Monsignor Gaenswein said that next Tuesday afternoon, August 4, Pope Francis will meet with some 12,000 German speaking participants of the International Pilgrimage of Altar Servers.
On Wednesday, August 5, the Pope will resume his weekly General Audiences which see the participation of thousands of pilgrims from across the world. Archbishop Gaenswein pointed out that the General Audience on August 26 will mark the 100th such occasion for Pope Francis. Due to the heat, the August General Audiences will take place inside the Paul VIth Hall.
On Friday, August 7, the Pope will receive in audience members of the Eucharistic Youth Movement.
Archbishop Gaenswein also revealed that since the beginning of Pope Francis’ Pontificate in March 2013, fifteen million people have been present for his General Audiences, Angelus’ and special audiences in the Vatican.
(from Vatican Radio)...

1 day 2 hours

(Vatican Radio) The first funerals of Mexico's truck tragedy which killed 27 pilgrims, have been taking place.
Pope Francis has sent his condolences after the tragedy on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil.
In a telegram to the Bishop of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Pope Francis was “greatly saddened” when he learned the news of the tragic accident, and “offers prayers for the eternal repose of those who died.”
43 people remain hospitalized. Ten of these are in serious condition while one is critical.
Listen to the report by James Blears :
The accident happened on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil in the Northern State of Zacatecas, and already some of its victims have been buried, following harrowing funerals.
Authorities say that the brakes of a truck carrying building materials failed and it ploughed into a procession of pilgrims.
They were celebrating the day of their patrón saint Jesús of Nazarath.
The out of control truck crushed scores of devout people, and hit the Wall of a building ripping and scoring its plaster and brickwork, ending up on its side.
The driver fled the scene of horror and carnage and is still being sought. Only when he's found, arrested and questioned can the full extent of what's happened... and why become plain.
The injured are being treated in hospitals in the cities of Saltillo and Concepción de Oro.
State and Federal Authories are combining to help as well as try to confort the families of the dead and the injured.
An investigation is underway into what led up to this unprecidented tragedy which will forever overshadow Mazapil's most cherished and devout day of the year.
(from Vatican Radio)...

1 day 3 hours

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will be visiting Cuba and the United States from September 19th to the 28th. The final stop of his trip will be the World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Philadelphia.
Cardinal William Levada is the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and served as the Archbishop of San Francisco, California, from 1995 to 2005.
He spoke to Vatican Radio about the upcoming papal visit.
Listen:
(from Vatican Radio)...

1 day 10 hours

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences after the tragedy on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil, Mexico, where a truck with defective brakes hit a religious procession, killing 27 people, and injuring hundreds of others.
In a telegram to the Bishop of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Pope Francis was “greatly saddened” when he learned the news of the tragic accident, and “offers prayers for the eternal repose of those who died.”
“In addition,” the telegram continues, “The Holy Father offers his own condolences to the families of the deceased, along with words of comfort, closeness, and wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured, and, at the same time, he cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a sign of hope in the Risen Lord.”
(from Vatican Radio)...

(Vatican Radio) U.S. Catholic leaders have called on Congress to ensure that the federal minimum wage is raised to “improve the financial security of millions of American families”. In a letter, dated July 28th, Bishop Thomas Wenski, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Sr Donna Markham, President of Catholic Charities USA, note that a full-time worker, currently earning the federal minimum wage, “does not make enough to raise a child free from poverty”.
As pastors and service providers, they say they see how each year “it becomes more difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet”. Quoting from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Centesimus Annus , they stress that society and the State must guarantee wage levels “adequate for the maintenance of the worker and his family”, as well as ensuring “adequate legislative measures” to stop exploitation of the most vulnerable. Protecting low-wage workers and promoting their ability to form and nurture families, the two Catholic leaders insist, are shared responsibilities and critical to building a more equitable society
Please find below the full text of the letter from Sr Donna Markham and Bishop Thomas Wenski
July 28, 2015
Dear Representative/Senator:
On behalf of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA, we write to lift up the struggles of low-wage workers and their families. We urge you to advance legislation and policies that would ensure fair and just wages for all workers, and in doing so improve the financial security of millions of American families.
An economy thrives only when it is centered on the dignity and well-being of the workers and families in it. As pastors and service providers, we see every day the consequences when society fails to honor this priority. A full-year, full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage does not make enough to raise a child free from poverty. Because the federal minimum wage is a static number and does not change, each year it becomes more difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet. This leads to increased demand for Charities’ services and reliance on the social safety net to make ends meet. Indeed, recent research suggests that about three-fourths (73 percent) of those who receive public benefits come from working families, meaning they or a family member is employed.
Saint John Paul II pointed out, “society and the State must ensure wage levels adequate for the maintenance of the worker and his family, including a certain amount for savings. This requires a continuous effort to improve workers' training and capability so that their work will be more skilled and productive, as well as careful controls and adequate legislative measures to block shameful forms of exploitation, especially to the disadvantage of the most vulnerable workers. . . (Centesimus Annus, no. 15).
Protecting low-wage workers and promoting their ability to form and nurture families are shared responsibilities and critical to building a more equitable society. One way Congress can contribute to this shared work of promoting the common good is by ensuring the federal minimum wage promotes family formation and stability.
Sincerely,
Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
Sister Donna Markham, OP, Ph.D.
President of Catholic Charities USA
(from Vatican Radio)...

Vatican City, 31 July 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for August is: “That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the needy”. His intention for evangelisation is: “That setting aside our very selves we may learn to be neighbours to those who find themselves on the margins of human life and society”....

2 days 10 hours

A prayer vigil to “dry
the tears” of those who are suffering and in need of consoling. A visit to a
hostel and moment for penance. These are a few examples of the events which the
Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization has added to their
calendar of events for the extraordinary
Holy Year on the website www.im.va . These meetings, in which Pope Francis will participate, will
involve families, pilgrimage organizers, parish priests and rectors of shrines,
members of the Roman Curia, of the Governorate of Vatican City State and other
Holy See institutions, teenagers, deacons, catechists and inmates. In addition
to the detailed agenda of these special days, the dicastery has announced that
in order to promote pilgrimages there will be a series of jubilee audiences
with the Pope which will be held on 12 Saturdays from January to November 2016. These new additions
to the calendar of the Jubilee of Mercy were conceived of as moments of
awareness and welcome, demonstrating that no one is excluded from divine mercy.
The Jubilee — which opens on 8 December 2015, the Feast of Christ the King —
intends to show the world the abundance of divine mercy. From the opening of
the Holy Door to its closing, the Pontiff will perform several signs of the
jubilee bearing witness to corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Many of the
larger events will be held over several days in order to offer the possibility
reflection and further involvement in the path to conversion that the Gospel calls for. The
Pope will participate in moments of prayer, liturgical celebrations and
Eucharistic adoration....

Vatican City, Aug 2, 2015 / 10:59 am (EWTN News/CNA).- Delivering his weekly Angelus address in St. Peter's Square on Sunday,
Pope Francis said that while everyone feels shame before going to
Confession, this grace helps us to be open to God's forgiveness.

Washington D.C., Aug 2, 2015 / 05:02 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- Dissenting Catholic groups have called for gay marriage to be recognized
as a sacrament, but Catholic theology has a clear priority: marriage is
God's creation  and not even the Church can change that.

12 hours 21 min

Santa Fe, NM, Aug 1, 2015 / 05:03 am (EWTN News/CNA).- Billy the Kid, a notorious bank and stage-coach robber of the Wild West,
met his match in the most unlikely of people when he met Sister
Blandina Seagle.

1 day 12 hours

Beirut, Lebanon, Aug 1, 2015 / 04:04 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- In a rare move, the Armenian Catholic Church has pulled their new
patriarch from out of retirement to take on the role as their new head.
Church leaders cited his energy and authority as necessary when dealing
with current issues, particularly those in the Middle East.

1 day 13 hours

Washington D.C., Jul 31, 2015 / 06:31 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- Catholic leaders are calling on Congress to raise the minimum wage, for the good of low-wage workers and their families.

2 days 10 hours

Washington D.C., Jul 31, 2015 / 04:04 am (EWTN News/CNA).- When Maggie was in high school, she stayed
after class to talk to ask a teacher what to do about a very personal
concern she felt her physician was not taking seriously. What she
learned led to the discovery of a brain tumor, and treatment for the
growth which had been affecting the teen for years. The tools she needed
to find and treat this growth came from an awareness of her fertility
and natural cycles.

2 days 13 hours

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2015 / 03:02 am (EWTN News/CNA).- In a tiny victory for Vatican-Chinese rapprochement, China's government
now recognizes seminary studies and allows seminarians to continue their
education in a state university should they leave.

2 days 14 hours

Rome, Italy, Jul 31, 2015 / 03:02 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- A priest has performed an aerial exorcism of the Italian seaside town of
Castellammare di Stabia in response to a spree of church-targeted
thefts and vandalism in the area.

An All-School Mass at St. Clement Church (St. Bernard, OH) for Roger Bacon High School in February.

Once Roger Bacon High School in St. Bernard (OH) held All-School Masses in its gym. In recent years, the Franciscan school has begun walking students to St. Clement Church, the Franciscan parish down the block. The school’s tiny chapel can hold only about two dozen people; massive St. Clement has room for the students, faculty, and weekday parishioners.

Photo courtesy Roger Bacon High School.

You can see all our 1000 Words photos at once: Click on “1000 Words” in the menu at the top of the page, or click here.To see all our Sunday photos, click here. To submit a photo, send it to TheCatholicBeat@gmail.com.

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10 hours 23 min

L’Angelus and singer/songwriter Maria Miller (known for song “6′ 2”” featured on Dancing with the Stars) will perform at Jubilation 2015 at the Spiritual Center of Maria Stein.

August is a quiet month for events as many parishes and organizations enjoy some down time, but you can still enjoy fundraisers, retreats, Holy Hours, and more — some Catholic events in the next two weeks:

July 24-Aug. 1, Annual Presentation Ministries Bible Institute at Xavier University. Several tracks and programs; youth seminar; weekend seminars July 24-25 and July 31-Aug. 1; daily Mass, Confession, and other liturgies; guest speakers include Bill Reichart, Deacon Ralph Poyo, local priests Fr. Rob Jack and Fr. Dave Endres; many other local and visiting speakers and priests including Fr. Chris Clay. Chris Padgett will present the July 31 day-long youth seminar; Bishop Joe Binzer will celebrate one of the Masses. Wide range of topics, some presented over multiple days, including prophecy, leadership, St. Faustina, intercessory prayer, more. Founded by the late Fr. Al Lauer. Pay what you can. Housing and meal plans available for set fees. For schedule and complete information click here.

July 31-Aug. 3 Glenmary Home Missioners discernment mission trip for single men ages 18-45 who are discerning a call as a priest or brother. Contact Br. David at 513-881-7411 or vocations@glenmary.org

July 31-Aug. 2nd, Ride for Life annual 3-day bicycle ride. Sponsored by UD, Cedarville University, Catholic Central High School, and Minster High School. Proceeds benefit Dayton Right to Life. Registration includes overnight accommodations, two meals a day, bike mechanic, more. Sendoff celebration at UD’s River Campus includes invocation by Fr. Greg Konerman; speech by Coach Mike Kelly; National Anthem: Dr. Willie Morris. Return Reception includes talk by UD President Dr. Dan Curran; food from W.G. Grinders; Music by Nick Cardilino. Maximum number of riders 75; sellout expected. Full ride $225; day rides $75. For information or to download a registration form click here.

Aug. 2-5, What Are You Calling Me to Lord? Silent Retreat at the Presentation Ministries Paul Jansen Discipleship Center (Peebles, OH). Stay after the Bible Institute (see July 24 – Aug. 1) or come for the retreat alone. For information or reservations call (937) 587-5464.

Aug. 9, Jubiliation 2015 at the Spiritual Center of Maria Stein (Maria Stein, OH), 1 pm – ??? Celebrating 200 years of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (CPPS). A day of activities including music by Events include music by Marie Miller and L’Angelus, activities, games, service projects, Adoration, and Mass at 7:30 pm followed by fireworks! Bishop Joe Binzer will celebrate the Mass and Fr. Gene Schnipke, CPPS, will preach. No fee; please bring a canned food to leave at the gate. For updates follow the event’s Facebook page.

Aug. 11, Monthly Holy Hour for Vocations at the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center (Norwood, OH), 8 – 9 pm. Sponsored by the the Children of Mary and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. All invited.

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2 days 17 hours

Protesters at Tuesday’s rally against Planned Parenthood, at the organization’s Cincinnati abortion facility.

From the Archdiocese of Cincinnati:

DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD!

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr

Recently released videos in which officials of Planned Parenthood traffic in human organs, tissues, and body parts from their abortion clinics are chilling and appalling. They display a callous disrespect for human life. Staff from the Family and Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese took part in “Women Betrayed” rally at Planned Parenthood’s Cincinnati clinic on July 28 to protest this outrage.

However, we need to do more than raise our voices. I urge Catholics and all people of good will to write to their representatives in state and national government, asking them to stop the flow of your tax dollars to Planned Parenthood. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has supported defunding for many years. Planned Parenthood received more than $1.3 million in state funds from Ohio and $500 million in federal funds in fiscal 2013-2014.

Please also support a pro-life pregnancy center that helps women in unintended pregnancies, providing many needed services. You can find a list of them here. If you have had or participated in an abortion and suffer remorse, please know that the Church’s post-abortion healing ministry, Project Rachel, stands ready to offer compassionate assistance. Learn more about Project Rachel at www.projectrachelcincy.com.

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please share it. To get local Catholic news, features and photos every day in your inbox, subscribe in the box at the top of every page or send a request to TheCatholicBeat@gmail.com.

2 days 17 hours

Retired veterinarian Bob Wolterman, who hunted wild boar last year, isn’t afraid to ask for money for a cause he believes in — he participated in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s 1955 capital campaign that resulted in the construction of high schools around the region.

Every Friday we share one of the stories from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s “One Faith, One Hope, One Love” campaign — the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s largest capital campaign in 60 years. For more information about the campaign and how it will be used, see the links at the bottom of the page.

“I was only in the eighth grade,” Bob recalls. “My uncle was a campaign captain, and they went out in teams. I was asked to go out with another person. We were assigned four or five people. We were well-received.”

Sacred Heart, wasn’t founded until two years after the 1955 capital campaign, but has grown to more 7,000 members today.

Bob, 74, is a retired veterinarian. He’s also a hunter who bagged a wild boar in Florida last year, so he knows something about patience in pursuit of a goal. In any case, he’s found a friendly reception as a volunteer soliciting gifts.

“I don’t mind asking people for money,” he said. “People are friendly. They invite you in.”

Bob supports the campaign in part because of his belief in Catholic education, a cause that will receive half of the amount collected by the campaign. The goal for education alone is $65 million.

“We’re more of a middle class parish,” Bob said, “so we’re one that will particularly benefit.”

For our story on the One Faith, One Hope, One Love campaign,click here.

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2 days 17 hours

NewsFeeds from Zenit, EWTN, CatholicCulture.orgFrom: CWN provides reliable world news and commentary from a Catholic perspective, availble exclusively at CatholicCulture.org.

Posted

An English bishop has urged the faithful to take an active role in opposing a bill that would allow for assisted suicide.
Speaking to pilgrims who had traveled to France to pray at the ...

2 days 2 hours

Rome's Mayor Ignazio Marino has said that Islamic groups have made specific threats against the city, but Italian intelligence agencies dispute that claim.
Mayor Marino told the daily ...

2 days 2 hours

The Vatican has released the prayer intentions of Pope Francis for August 2015.
The Pope's general intention is: "That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the ...

2 days 3 hours

The head of the investigative team whose videotapes have exposed the sale of fetal tissues now says that Planned Parenthood may have been involved in harvesting organs from babies who were ...

2 days 3 hours

Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence to pilgrims who travel on the Camino Ignaciano, or Ignatian Way, between July 31, 2015, and July 31, 2016.
July 31 is the feast of St. ...

2 days 10 hours

In a recent dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, representatives of the Evangelical Church in Germany-- a federation of Lutheran and other Protestant communities-- ...

2 days 11 hours

Caritas Italiana, the Italian bishops' relief and development agency, has published a report on the persecution of Christians.
The report, released July 30, estimates that there are ...

2 days 11 hours

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, joined by representatives of other Orthodox churches, recalled the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Vladimir, prince of Kievan Rus' and a key figure in ...

2 days 11 hours

The high court of the southwest Indian state of Kerala has ruled that Christian dalits who reconvert to Hinduism may benefit from affirmative action programs.
Dalits were formerly ...

2 days 12 hours

French and Spanish bishops whose dioceses are part of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) have issued a pastoral letter on the famed pilgrimage route, which leads to the cathedral in ...

2 days 12 hours

Writing in the New York Daily News, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on Mexicans entering the United States recalled 19th-century ...

2 days 13 hours

NewsFeeds from Zenit, EWTN, CatholicCulture.orgFrom: The site of the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Posted

Players from Covington Catholic, Purcell Marian and Badin look on as Father Benedict O’Cinneslaigh, seminary rector, incenses the Blessed Sacrament. The SportsLeader Rosary Rally was the third to take place in this archdiocese, and the second this year. More than 20 are planned around the nation. (CT Photo/John Stegeman)

By John Stegeman
The Catholic Telegraph

In a few weeks, the young men who gathered Thursday as brothers in Christ will spend their Friday nights hitting each other with extreme force on the gridiron field. On this evening, though, they knelt together before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and prayed the rosary.

Roughly 400 people, 340 of them being high school football players and coaches, gathered on the east lawn of the Athenaeum of Ohio in Mt. Washington for a SportsLeader Rosary Rally. Two days earlier, a similar rally with about 300 players and coaches took place at the University of Dayton for the schools in the northern part of the archdiocese.

The attendees heard brief talks by former Moeller and Notre Dame University head coach Gerry Faust, and Father Anthony Brausch, the seminary’s director of formation who is himself a former high school football player. Seminary Rector Father Benedict O’Cinneslaigh led the rosary and benediction. Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis M. Schnurr was also present.

“Through this rosary rally, we see that in fact coaches and school administrators are taking seriously their charge to make certain that every aspect of a Catholic school education is a mode of transmitting the faith,” Archbishop Schnurr said after attending the event.

Every Catholic school within the archdiocese that plays football was represented at one of the two rallies with the exception of Roger Bacon, which planned to attend but was left stranded when a bus failed to show up.

SportsLeader, a Catholic, Louisville, Ky.-based non-profit, that exists to assist coaches in instilling virtue in their players, held its first such rally at the Athenaeum last year. Since then the concept has taken off and the organization is sponsoring 20 rosary rallies for high school football teams across the nation.

“This was the start last year and now its really, really growing across the country,” said Lou Judd, of SportsLeader. “The group photo has been very important. Many people see that and say, ‘Ok, it can happen…’ Once they see that photo and see the teams have gathered, especially the quality of teams that are here in the Cincinnati area, they believe they can do it too.”

The Dayton rally included Catholic Central, Lehman Catholic, Chaminade Julienne, Bishop Fenwick, Carroll, Alter and Anna, a public school from Shelby County. The Cincinnati rally included Moeller, Elder, St. Xavier, LaSalle, McNicholas, Purcell Marian, Summit Country Day, Badin and would have included Roger Bacon. Covington Catholic from the Diocese of Covington, Ky. was also present.

SportsLeader is a coach-driven organization that provides not only training, but formation to coaches using four pillars — Virtue, mentoring, ceremony, and

Catholic identity. While much of their work is coach focused, Judd said the rosary rallies provide a unique memory for the student-athletes.

“The mere fact of kneeling down for 25 minutes, praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I don’t think anyone is going to forget that ever,” Judd said. “They’re going to remember that experience. That’s what we need.

“Our hope is to spread this to every diocese across the country and hopefully it will just grow and grow and be an opportunity for our young people to grow in faith,” he added.

There is one more SportsLeader rosary rally scheduled for the archdiocese. On Sunday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. SportsLeader and the Athenaeum will host youth football teams from around the archdiocese for a similar program.

The national SportsLeader Rosary Rally tour has had successful events so far this year in St Louis, Missouri (4 teams), Kansas City, Kansas (6 teams) and Columbus, Ohio (5 teams). Cleveland hosted a rally July 29 and Louisville, Ky. hosts one today. The remaining rally schedule is listed below.

So far the tour has reached 37 Catholic HS football teams and about 1,500 coaches and players.

Players from several schools in the northern parts of the archdiocese pray the rosary at a SportsLeader Rosary Rally in Dayton July 28. (Courtesy Photo/SportsLeader)

Representatives of Stelter and Brinck, JTM Food Group, and various Catholic institutions celebrate the kick off event of the Food for All campaign Tuesday at the Stelter and Brinck offices in Harrison, Ohio. (CT Photo/John Stegeman)

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati officially launched its Food for All campaign in early July, but its unofficial kickoff event happened Tuesday at the offices of Stelter and Brinck in Harrison, Ohio.

Chris Pastura of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati takes a photo of the JTM Food Group donation. (CT Photo/John Stegeman)

Local companies JTM Food Group and Stelter and Brinck challenged each other to raise canned goods and other food items for the campaign and the archdiocese organized an event celebrating their donations as well as the support of other institutions that have pledged support.

JTM Food Group donated 2,500 pounds of frozen macaroni and cheese, and filled a St. Vincent DePaul donation barrel. The mac and cheese donation was specifically for the Defeat Hunger 5k Obstacle Run, an initiative of Food for All seeking 5,000 items in donations.

Stelter and Brinck donated about two and a half St. Vincent DePaul donations barrels worth of food.

Also present Tuesday were representatives from St. Vincent DePaul, Fenwick High School, Elder High School, St. Clement, St. Ignatius, Sacred Heart/St. Ann and Catholic Charities.

The donation from Stelter and Brinck would have likely filled three St. Vincent DePaul donation barrels. (CT Photo/John Stegeman)

Representatives of the Archdiocese distributed Food for All and Defeat Hunger t-shirts to those present as a thank you for their participation.

Many organizations are participating and Food for All has already raised more than 250,000 items. Their goal is to raise 1 million before Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. later this year.

Welcome to Friday Photo. A post where The Catholic Telegraph staff select an image that shows the vibrant life of the faith community in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and around the world. To submit a photo for consideration, email John Stegeman with “Friday Photo” in the subject line.